Portrait – Elly from Toronto

Elly is an up and coming dance instructor in Toronto, but originally from Korea! I would describe Elly as someone who you would think as shy when you first meet them but super bubbly and outgoing after she gets to know you. It was a real treat to work with her for half an hour this week. Usually when I shoot portraits for clients, it would take fifteen or so minutes to get the jitters of having a camera pointed at them out of the way but with Elly, she came flying right out of the gate and ready to rock. Makes my job so much easier when the subject is comfortable with posing so I can focus on other fun stuff like lighting, depth of field, and white balance.

The original intent for this shoot was for Elly to get a professional (read: somewhat serious) looking profile picture that she can attach on webpages and print-outs for classes she hosts instead of random Facebook pictures. Portrait shots are a great way to convey personality but the trick always is trying to balance “personality” with “function” – the real reason for people to have a portrait picture in the first place is so potential clients recognize who you are. With Elly, this was a piece of cake (and I do like cake). She was great at being slightly directed on what to pose while at the same time interjecting minor changes in her facial features or stance to make it uniquely her. I’m pretty happy with the results :-)

Photography Notes: I used a 85mm prime lens at f2.8. Natural light was coming from a window from Elly’s right.